It is with great joy that the Leadership Council of First Congregational UCC Phoenix Church announces it has called the Rev. Susan Valiquette to lead their congregation, effective Feb. 1, 2021. Pastor Susan knows First Church well. Most recently, she served First Church as its Associate Pastor. She arrived in 2018, following her 18-year ministry with UCC’s Global Ministries, assigned to the Inanda Seminary in Durban, where she served as a chaplain, teacher, and counselor in an historic Congregational all girls boarding school. Before her move to South Africa, she served First Congregational Church UCC in Battle Creek, Michigan, as Associate Pastor for six years. She earned her Master's of Divinity from the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 1995. Her undergraduate degree came from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where she majored in Religion and minored in Communications.
Congratulations to The Church of the Palms, now recognized nationally as a WISE Congregation for Mental Wellness. The church will be listed on the United Church of Christ Mental Health Network website, and will be introduced as a WISE Congregation at the 2021 General Synod of the United Church of Christ. Most importantly, they look forward to continuing to grow into the congregation that God has called them to be: Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive, and Engaged.
First Congregational UCC in Albuquerque will hold a Drive and Drop on February 14 to collect food for their usual programs as well as for Zia Pueblo that has been devastated by Covid. At the Drive and Drop, they will also give out Lenten devotional materials and a sticker tattoo with a cross to use on Ash Wednesday. Creative!
This is an exciting week for Oro Valley UCC. They have completed a successful Heifer International campaign and collected enough donations to buy a water kiosk for a village!
Scottsdale UCC delivered $500 of food Gift Cards to Iglesia Cristiana el Buen Pastor last week to hand out during its weekly food box distribution. This small Hispanic church in Mesa, along with Scottsdale UCC and Desert Palm, are members of a loose coalition of East Valley worship communities that came together a couple years ago to work on refugee issues. Many of its church members lost their jobs during the pandemic and the "East Valley Network" supplies food and gift cards weekly.
In their recent Sock-a-Rama, United Church of Sun City collected 877 pairs of socks for Dysart Community Center. The congregation also raised $1050.00 in January for the Souper Bowl of Caring soup drive. "We continue to be the church serving our community even in the midst of a pandemic," said Rev. Brady Abel, Senior Pastor.